Sunny Acres development rejected by Marlboro board
Applicant wants to build 19 homes on Buckley Road
BY TALI ISRAELI
Staff Writer

Marlboro

MARLBORO - An application for a new residential development that has stirred up some controversy in the past year was denied by the Planning Board on Jan. 17.

It was almost a year ago when representatives of Sunny Acres claimed they had received preliminary approval for their site plan by default. The Planning Board was surprised to hear that news since the applicant had never appeared before the board for a hearing.

The Sunny Acres representatives claimed their plan had received the approval because the board failed to take action on the application within the required 120 days of the date when the application was deemed complete.

Sunny Acres filed a lawsuit against the board and state Superior Court Judge Alexander D. Lehrer, sitting in Freehold, remanded the project back to the Planning Board in order for the board to begin hearing testimony on the application. Lehrer retained jurisdiction over the application.

On Jan. 17 the applicant appeared before the board seeking preliminary and final major subdivision approval to create 21 lots on a 51-acre tract on Buckley Road. Two of the lots named in the proposal have existing homes on them and the applicant proposed to construct 19 new homes on the remaining lots; one existing residence on the site would be demolished.

A new cul-de-sac road was proposed by the applicant to service the majority of the lots; the remaining lots would be accessed from Buckley Road. The site is in an R-80 zone which permits homes to be built on 2-acre lots.

According to project planner Creigh Rahenkamp, the applicant was seeking three variances all relating to one of the existing lots. The one-story existing residence in question is about 1,086 square feet in total living area.

According to Rahenkamp, a township ordinance requires a new home's first floor to be 1,200 square feet and the overall size of the house to be 1,800 square feet. The existing home on the proposed site is deficient in both those regards, Rahenkamp said. In addition, there is an existing garage that is 15.5 feet tall where accessory structures are only permitted to be a maximum of 15 feet tall.

Rahenkamp suggested that the board consider that the variances do not pertain to the application because it is a plan for a subdivision and the variances are not related to the subdivision application itself. The planner noted that the applicant is not creating variances relating to area, setback or anything that is being affected by the subdivision.

The resident who lives in the home intends to remain in the home and if a variance is not granted, Rahenkamp said, the home would have to be demolished and rebuilt to conform to the township ordinance. He said this would impact the individual's life and said the applicant is trying to protect an existing structure and an existing resident.

The planner noted the variances were not being sought for new construction coming into the neighborhood, nor is the applicant imposing a non-conforming lot on an existing neighborhood.

Rahenkamp said there would be no negative impact or detriment to either the zoning plan or the adjoining neighborhood if the board were to grant the variances. He said he believes there would be practical difficulties in requiring the existing structures to be demolished.

Township Planner Jennifer Beahm noted that an addition to the home could be built in order for the lot to conform to Marlboro's ordinance.

Attorney Wayne Peck, representing the applicant, said his clients do not control the house and they had no right to build an addition to that residence.

Board member Mark Barenburg said he does not believe there is any good reason why the applicant does not have a conforming plan. He added that it was not a land use reason that the applicant could not conform, but a personal reason.

Board member Gerald Bergh said although he does not believe constructing an addition to the home would be a problem, he questioned whether the addition would be necessary. Bergh noted that it would not affect the neighborhood either way.

Another issue discussed during the applicant's testimony involved the proposed detention basin for Sunny Acres.

According to Beahm, the Township Council recently adopted an ordinance which states that if a development is more than 20 lots a homeowners association must be created to maintain the detention basin and a maintenance bond will be posted in the event the association becomes defunct and the township has to maintain the basin. If the development is less than 20 lots then the detention basin has to be dedicated to the township, Beahm added.

According to Rahenkamp, there is an interpretation issue regarding the law as to whether this application that has 21 total lots and 19 new lots falls under that mandatory category. The planner noted that only 19 lots would be serviced by the detention basin.

The applicant was told to approach the council with that issue.

Peck said the applicant would abide by the council's decision regarding the detention basin.

Beahm noted that the ordinance was written specifically to make this determination for the applicants and to avoid a rash of applicants from going to the council and asking if the township could take over a detention basin.

The applicant and board agreed that no waiver or variance was needed regarding the detention basin and that the applicant would have to comply with the ordinance on the storm water management system based on a discussion with the council as to the interpretation of the law's language.

In a related discussion, Rahenkamp testified as to the impact of storm water on the adjoining properties. He said about two-thirds of the site is going to be draining to the detention basin, which he said is now sheet flowing off of the site to the neighbors. The planner said there will be a reduction of 50 percent of the sheet flow that currently exists on the site. Rahenkamp added that in no case would there be an increase in storm water leaving the property toward adjoining lots, but that there would be a substantial improvement for the neighborhood.

Following a discussion by the board regarding the variances requested by the applicant, Barenburg made a motion to deny the Sunny Acres application.

Board members Sanjay Joshi, Michael Schnurr, Randy Stouber and Barenburg voted in favor of denying the application. Board alternate Colleen Napoli also voted to deny the application; she voted in place of Elvera Fernandez, who was not present at the meeting last week.

Board member Gerald Bergh and board Chairman Peter Bellone voted not to deny the application. Board alternate Michael Mahon did not vote on the application but was present during the hearing.

In comments to the News Transcript on Jan. 22, Planning Board attorney Dennis Collins said he believes the applicant will file an appeal of the board's decision with the judge who retained jurisdiction. He noted that representatives of Sunny Acres still have the right to argue that they received default approval.

Peck declined to comment on his client's next step now that the Sunny Acres application has been denied by the board.

Collins said if the applicants argue that they received default approval, it is his intention to ask the judge for the right to discovery, which he said involves questioning the former principals of Sunny Acres. Steven Meiterman; Bernard Meiterman's wife, Gloria; Eddie Kay; Terry Sherman; and Anthony Spalliero were the original principals of the Holmdel-based company called Sunny Acres.

The forms were revised in January 2006 to replace Spalliero's name with the name of Domenica Russo, who is known to be Spalliero's ex-wife. The same Holmdel address was listed on the forms for Russo and Spalliero.

The forms were revised again in December 2006 changing the principals of Sunny Acres to Meadowood Properties, LLC, of Holmdel, and Grassy Knolls, LLC, of Englishtown, each with a 50 percent stake in Sunny Acres. The principals of Grassy Knolls are Leah Meiterman, of Marlboro; Gloria Meiterman, of Manalapan; and Barrie Kay, of Marlboro.

The two companies that each have a 50 percent stake in Meadowood Properties are Stilwell Holdings, of Holmdel, and Dolphin Holdings, of Hazlet. The principals of Stilwell Holdings are Terry Sherman, Jason Sherman and Timothy Sherman. The principals of Dolphin Holdings are Russo and Josephine DiNuzzio.

Spalliero, Eddie Kay, Bernard Meiterman and Steven Meiterman are all under federal indictment for their alleged involvement in criminal development activities relating to projects in Marlboro.